France Says Abu Dhabi to Host HQ for European Naval Mission

“This morning we formalized that the command post will be based on Emirati territory,” Defense Minister Florence Parly told reporters at a French naval base in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, Reuters reported.

The command center will host around a dozen officials representing the countries involved, she said. In a speech to French military personnel, she said the next time she visited the base she hoped the mission would be operational and thanked the UAE for supporting it.

On Saturday, Parly said the initiative could start early next year and around 10 European and non-European governments would join, pending parliamentary approval.

The plan was first announced in late July after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) impounded a British-flagged tanker because it failed to stop after hitting an Iranian fishing boat — as is required by international law — in the Strait of Hormuz.